Anchorage for church pew



' R. J. 'KOHRT ANCHORAGE FOR CHURCH FEW Aug. 19, 1969 Filed Feb. i5,196'?l Flags 'lf/61.4 FIG.;

United States Patent O 3,462,105 ANCHORAGE FOR CHURCH PEW Richard J.Kohrt, 909 Dodge St., Kewaunee, Wis. 54216 Filed Feb. 3, 1967, Ser. No.613,884 Int. Cl. F16m 1 1 20; A47g 29/02; E02d 27/50 U.S. Cl. 24S-188.82 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An anchorage for supporting a pew,above a floor, on a stud projecting upwardly from the oor.

Carpeted church floors, with the pews resting thereon, are rapidly beingintroduced, and are presenting new pew stability and securementproblems.

The conventional type of anchor means for church pews are of thedraw-down type designed for drawing the pew legs down toward the lloorthereby tending to squeeze or compress any carpeting disposedtherebetween.

After a lapse of time, such compressed carpet areas under the legs losea great measure of their supporting resilience, and, coupled with thelive load downward thrust imposed by persons sitting on the pew furthercompressing such carpeted areas, results in a clearance between theanchor nut and the adjacent abutting pew leg portion, whereby suchclearance permits an objectionable play or movement of the pew.

Consequently the pew becomes loosely mounted and subject to unwantedupward, downward and sidewise movement.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an improved concealed anchormeans for church pews by which the pews are positively secured againstlooseness in any direction, thereby eliminating the objectionablelooseness inherent in the presently known pew anchorages.

An object of this invention is the provision of pew anchorage means forpositively and rigidly securing a pew to studs projecting from thefloor;

Another object is to provide new anchorage means for positivelysupporting a pew on rigid studs projecting from a floor;

Still another object of this invention is the provision of pew anchoragemeans adapted to compensate for floor level variation, for scribbingerror, or for a slight bow in the length of the baclcrest of the pew.

Other specific objects, and many of the attendant advantages, of thisinvention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which likereference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereofand wherein:

FIG. l is a front elevation view of a church pew;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the church pew shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-section view taken on line 3,3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of the church pew portion shown in FIG.3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is an exploded isometric view of the anchor elements, per se.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown a church pew gen- 3,462,105. Patented Aug. 19, 1969 iceerally indicated at 10 resting on a carpet 11 covering a oor 12.

Said pew comprises a pair of spaced ends or legs 13 and 14 supporting aseat 15 and backrest 16 routed and secured in the legs as at 17 and 18,respectively.

The floor 12 can be of any suitable floor material such as concrete orwood, or the like.

The floor covering or carpet 11 is of the usual resilient orcompressible type such as textile fabric, cork, rubber or the like, andmay include a cushion pad or underlay, such as sponge rubber, or thelike, not shown.

However, the invention is not limited to the use with resilient floorcoverings. The invention is also applicable with hard floor coverings,such as ceramic tile, linoleum, vinyl or asphalt tile laid on originalbase floors, such as of concrete or wood. In fact, the invention is alsoapplicable where the pew is resting directly on a base floor such as ofconcrete or wood, without any intervening oor covering.

In view of the fact that the support legs are similar, the applicationof the present anchorage t0 onlyone of the legs is deemed` sufficient toa full disclosure. Also, in view of the fact that all such anchors aresimilar, the detailed description of only one anchor shall suffice.

The anchor means for anchoring the legs 13 and 14 of pew 10 to thecarpet 11 covered floor 12 comprises a pair of such spaced anchor meansat the lower end portion of each support leg, such as indicatedgenerally at 19 and 20, and 21 and 22, respectively, at the toe and heelportions thereof.

In the application of such anchor means to pew leg 13, vertical boressuch as indicated at 23 are provided at the heel and the toe thereof,commencing at the bottom of said leg and extending upwardly therefrom apredetermined distance to receive and accommodate a rigid elevator studsuch as indicated at 24, hereinafter de scribed.

A second bore such as indicated at 25, lateral to first bore 23, isprovided in said pew leg 13, the axis of said second bore intersectingthe axis of rst bore 23 substantially intermediate the ends of saidfirst bore; and said lateral bore commencing at and being normal to theinner face 26 of said pew leg 13.

The lateral bore 25 communicates with vertical bore 23, and extendsbeyond said bore, and terminates short of the outer face 27 of said leg13.

A sleeve 28 is snugly received in said lateral bore, said sleeve havingits inner end abutting the terminous of said lateral bore, and its outerend extending flush with the inner face 0f leg 26.

A diametral bore 29 is provided through said sleeve 28, said diametralbore being disposed coaxial with vertical bore 23 and of a size toreceive stud 24 therethrough.

The inner periphery of sleeve 28 is threaded to receive a cup-point,hex-socket, set screw 31, or the like. When said set screw 29 isoperatively engaged against stud 24, its outer end is likewisesubstantially llush with the outer end of sleeve 28, to present a flusharrangement of the sleeve and set screw with the inner face of leg 13.

To secure the sleeve fitted pew to a concrete door, conventionalconcrete floor anchor studs 24, suitably spaced to register with thepair of vertical bores 23 in the pew legs, are fixed or embedded in andproject from said lloor a predetermined distance. Expansion shield typestuds received in suitable bores in said floor have been foundsatisfactory. However, the invention is not limited to such expansionshield studs.

In the event the pew is supported on a wood floor, the studs cancomprise a standard hanger bolt screwed into the floor, or a wood screwsuch as a number sixteen wood 3 screw screwed into the floor and havingits head removed, or the like.

Obviously, the size of the stud will vary with the load it is to carryor hold.

Should the concrete or wood floor be covered with a floor covering,apertures are provided in the floor covering to permit the studs toproject therethrough.

To secure the pew to the studs, the pew is lowered over the studs, thestuds entering the vertical bores 23 provided in the bottoms of the legs13 and 14. Continued lowering of the pew permits the studs to passthrough diametral bores 29 in sleeves 28 and into the upper portions ofvertical bores 23, respectively. Further lowering disposes the pew onthe floor or floor covering. Set screws 31 are then tightened againststuds 24 to lock and hold the pew firmly fixed to the studs 24. Becausethe pew is thus rigidly fixed and supportable on studs 24 by means ofset screw 31, any additional live load downward thrust by personssitting on the pew is likewise positively supported on studs 24; where*as with the conventional draw-down type of pew anchoring means, theresilient carpeting under the pew legs tends to compress, due to theadditional imposed live load, resulting in a clearance and loosening ofthe pew mounting.

The length dimensions of the vertical bore 23 and the projecting stud 24received therein, are such, that when the pew is disposed resting on thefloor or floor covering, a clearance exists between the top of said studand the end of said bore. Said clearance is provided to preclude thestud abutting or bottoming on the end of bore 23.

Furthermore, the stud 24 is of a length to extend through diametral bore29 in sleeve 28- and into the upper portion of vertical bore 23 toengage and interlock with the inner periphery of said upper portion toprovide greater securement stability, and to provide a measure of studextension to be used in compensating for floor level variation, and thelike, as aforementioned.

In long pew construction, at least one intermediate leg is included,such as indicated at 29. Such intermediate leg is also provided with theanchor means heretofore de scribed, and generally indicated at 31, oneat the toe or front of the leg and one at the heel or rear of the leg.

In the event of a shortage error in scribbing the bottom of saidintermediate leg to the floor, such error can be compensated for byfixing such leg elevated above the floor, a suitable and compensatorydistance, by means of the set screw 31.

Also, in the event the backrest of an installed pew is found to be bowedbackwardly, such bow can be substan-v tially removed by loosening theset screws in the anchor.- ages of said intermediate leg, and tiltingthe pew forwardly by applying a force to the back of the pew at suchintermediate leg, the intermediate leg pivoting on its toe held incontact with the floor. This operation requires that the end legs of thepew be held in their installed fixed position. When the bow is thussuitably removed, the set screw in the rear anchorage is tightened tohold the intermediate leg in such tilted position, that is, to hold theheel of said leg elevated above the floor. With the toe of the leg heldin contact with the floor, the set screw in the front anchorage is thentightened. Thus such anchorages function to hold a bowed backrest in astraight line.

While the novel means of this invention was described herein as appliedto a church pew, it is obviously not limited thereto. The anchor meansherein disclosed has like application to any structure requiringfixation to a floor, wall or ceiling, such as, equipment, furniture,seating, or the like.

Some characteristic features of this invention are the provision ofpositive pew anchorage means wherein the pew is rigidly supported onstuds projecting from the floor; the provisiony of pew anchorage meansof the positive stud support type including set screws for fixing a pewleg elevated above the floor to compensate for floor level variation,for scribbing error, or for unwanted bow in the backrest.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood, that within the scope of the .appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. In the combination of a floor, a piece of furniture having legs, aoor covering intervening between the legs and the oor yand anchorsspanning between the legs and the floor and through the oor covering,said anchors comprising studs set in said oor and supporting the ends ofsaid legs in spaced relation to the floor and independently of theintervening oor covering, each said leg having a bore extending alongthe length thereof and receiving said stud and a second bore transverseto and intersecting the first mentioned bore, locking means disposed insaid transverse bore in engagement with the walls thereof and with saidstud to fix said leg on said stud.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which said locking means comprises a.threaded sleeve having a diametral cross bore aligned with the bore inwhich the stud is received, and a set screw in said sleeve to engage thestud.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,380,041 5/1921 Cook 248-3612,962,170 l1/19`6O Best 211-182 3,104,900 9/1963 Petrone 211-182 FOREIGNPATENTS 850,201 12/ 1939 France. 881,414 7/1952 Germany.

17,714 7/1909 Great Britain.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner VUs. C1. X.R.

